This should be a simple question, but I'm got mixed answers from the local audio place. They don't understand that I don't want to replace my stock radio.

I have the original stock 1986 Delco plain AM/FM radio in my car. No tape, no nothing, just plain AM/FM. I love the look of it.

I want to add Sirius satellite, but I will not replace my existing radio.

My stock radio will not accomodate Sirius, the only option the audio store is giving me is to use "FM modulation" with Sirius. So Sirius would broadcast on an FM signal like 88.1 or something, and my radio would tune to that. I don't want to do that, I heard the quality sucks. I want it hooked up direct.

What can I do? Can I add something that both my stock radio, and satellite radio would both hook into?

How hard can this be to have my stock radio work, AND have satellite work. Even if there was a switch or something I had to use, I don't care. I don't care if it costs extra to set up either.

Ideas???

 

Dude, what part of western Mass are you in? I'm in Amherst.

Go to Crutchfield.com and look around their site. I don't think they offer any products that would do what you want, but you can check. You can also check the different FM transmitting Sirius units to see how other customers have rated them. If you find one that a lot of people say sounds and works great, then maybe that option will sound better to you. Crutchfield is an awesome company with great customer service, so you don't hesitate to e-mail them with your questions, or give them a call.

I have used an FM transmitter with my iPod in a rental car, and to be honest, found the quality just fine.

 

What you want is not possible. Nobody makes the equipment to give you a direct connection with that radio. Sirius makes a unit with a hardwired FM modulator, which is going to give you your best sound quality and be the closest thing to what you want.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/SIRIU...oductDetail.do

 

It’s not hard at all, but you need to use a FM modulator. One that plus in through he antenna plug on the radio. If you're worried about sound quality then you wouldn’t have the stock radio, looks or not. The sound quality flat out stinks. What you want to do is hard if even possible. Well anything is possible, but it would take a complete redesign of the stock unit.

 

I have the Sirius FM modulated system on my stocker and it sounds great. In fact, it sounds just as clear as my other system with the aux input. Do not think that FM modulation is bad. Will get you pictures of my set up this evening (antenna location, Sirius brain location, Remote location etc etc etc.) and you will have something to go by.

Later

Look on www.1fastformula.com under pics page 1 and scroll to the bottom to see the location of the antenna...INVISIBLE damn near

Later

 

Trust me when I say that you'll NEVER hear a difference between the FM modulator and a direct connection on a factory radio.

The only drawback to using an FM modulated signal is that there's a sharp dropoff in output above 15khz. This, however, is a non-issue if you're using a head unit that doesn't have any output above 10khz, and speakers that also have no output above 10khz.

It's sort of aruging over whether or not you're better off with forged or hyper pistons in a stock LG4 305.

 

Man, wish I had known that the FM transmitters would not be noticeably worse in sound quality before I bought an XMDirect hard-wired unit the other day.

 

You should have asked.

With good speakers (and a competent head unit), the difference is noticable if you can still hear above 15khz. A lot of people can't. Overall though, people put too much emphasis on the lower quality because that's all they've been told over and over. When I first got into car audio, I had a friend with an fm-modulated changer and I was still shocked at how good the highs were. They are softer and don't have the air that they have with a direct connection, but the compressed satellite radio sounds so bad already that I doubt it's really noticable. With cds it is noticable, but not all that bad. If you're sitting there, listening to a well known cd with the car not running, then yeah, you'll notice something missing, but under normal usage, it's all good.

If you like the sound of satellite radio in the first place, then you won't mind the sound from an FM modulator.

 

Well geez, Jim, I've already asked so many questions, I wanted to spare you the trouble of fielding more of them!

Live and learn

 

Sorry no pics tonight...Went to the strip in the Lightning and did not have time afterwards. Thursday evening is when the pics will get taken..Promise you

Later

 

Awesome...Thanks Bull, Jim, 1fast for all the info.

I'll go with FM modulation. I can't bear to take out my stock radio. I just really love the stock look of an ancient radio.

My main concern with FM modulation was that it was going to be static or interference, like some stupid college radio station broadcasting on the same channel I need to tune into, or something like that.

Bull, I work in Hadley. I'll probably go to Best Buy, or Elite, or Long's, not sure.

1fast, if you have pics, I'd love to see them...

Thanks again!
John

 

No way, Hadley? That's wicked close. We should get together sometime to gawk at each other's cars. You live there, too?

 

Pics for you:

 

Check out my thread a few posts down. It was of similar questions. I went ahead and bought the Sirius Starmate Replay. This thing was so simple to install. It utilizes a wireless fm transmitter. You set the receiver and the stock radio to 88.1 or some other channel that is not being used by a radio station. Once you do that and setup the service you are in business. It was super simple with only two wires, cigarette power and the antennae.

 

Whoa iam really confused. I too want to get sirius while also keeping my stock stereo. Do i want FM transmitter or FM modulator???? And with a modulator, do i need to mount one of those things you put in your trunk and get an antenna???????

 

I replied to your pm a mack6 but let me explain how my starmate hooks up. In the box you get the unit, cig power cord, and a magnetic antennae. You mount the anntennae on the roof/trunk/etc. and run that to the unit. Then run your cig power cord. In the starmate unit, there is a function under the menu called fm transmitter. You set that to a frequency like 88.1 and then set your stock radio to 88.1 and you should hear the sirius satellite music as you would listen to a regular station. Now you don't change the station at your stock deck, you will now change the station using the sirius unit. You can, however, change your factory radio stations to what ever you want to listen to locally and it will still come in like it used to. Basically, the sirius unit acts as its own radio station.

 

Either the FM transmitter or the FM modulator style should work. I've never used an FM transmitter style, but I'm leary of it because it will be suceptable to interference, especially if somebody else is using one nearby. However, hookup and installation is a lot easier.

With the FM modulated one, you've got to run the wire to the antenna input on the head unit, then plug the stock antenna into the modulator. This type of a connection eliminates the possibility of interference and maximizes signal strength, but is more difficult to install.

Better than both is having the option to use a head unit's aux inputs. That way you get full bandwidth to 20khz instead of a cutoff at 15khz like you get with the fm broadcast/modulation styles. However, this requires a head unit with aux inputs, which obviously isn't an option when dealing with factory radios.